Parents Out, Party's On
by Girly 411
Summary: When the gang’s parents leave on a long trip for the rest of summer, Ryan throws a party at the mansion and everyone’s invited. What will happen when Sharpay finds out? R&R!
1. Coincidence

**Parents Out, Party's On!**

**Summary: **When the gang's parents leave on a long trip for the rest of summer, Ryan throws a party at the mansion and everyone's invited. What will happen when Sharpay finds out? R&R!

**Disclaimer:** I obviously do not own _High School Musical_, anything you do recognize, and Lucas Grabeel. But you've got to admit that kid is pretty darn cute!

**Chapter 1: Coincidence?**

"So, you're telling me that you have a job offer in Tokyo, Japan?" Ryan asked his mom in a flat unbelieving tone. He was leaning against the wall in the corner of the room with a small grin on his face. His parents had called him into the large family room of their mansion with very important news.

Sharpay rolled her eyes and groaned slightly.

"Yes," Mrs. Evans responded quietly with a smile, "They've asked me to teach yoga."

Ryan held back a laugh. That was a joke, he was sure of it. His mom already ran the yoga classes at the Lava Springs Resort. Why would she want to leave to go to Japan just to teach it there, too?

"And your father is going on a golf retreat in Florida," Mrs. Evans told him.

"They have the widest green I've ever seen!" Mr. Evans added with a smile as he placed an arm around his wife, who continued to smile back at Ryan, "Plus, I'm also visiting Hawaii to take a look at the Pro Games."

"And what are _we_ going to do while you're gone?" Ryan asked them with little concern for what was happening in front of him.

"You mean, what are _you_ going to do?" Sharpay corrected him with a sharp tone, "I'm going with mummy. Right?" She looked at her mother expectantly.

Mrs. Evans shook her head solemnly. "No, pumpkin. I'm sorry, but you have to stay here with your brother," she told her daughter, whose eyes opened wide in shock.

"Actually, _you_ are being sent to a summer camp… for a week," Mr. Evans further explained.

"What?" Sharpay exclaimed in slight fear, "I was never told anything about a summer camp? What kind of summer camp? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, we wanted to surprise you," Mrs. Evans explained with a slight smile, "You'll enjoy yourself there."

"Yeah, it will be fun," Mr. Evans chimed in.

Ryan couldn't hold it in any longer. He burst out laughing and everyone in the room turned to him in surprise.

"What?" Sharpay asked him with a scowl on her face, "What's so funny?"

"You…" Ryan stuttered, trying to catch his breath as he clutched his stomach, "Your face!"

Sharpay's mouth dropped open in shock. Anger filled her body and she got up from where she had been sitting. Her fists were clenched at her sides.

"Ryan!" Mrs. Evans scolded him, "Be nice to your sister! That's no way for someone of your age to act!"

Ryan stopped laughing just long enough to take a deep breath and calm himself down. "I didn't mean it that way," he explained softly, "I meant… Sharpay can't go to camp! She wouldn't make it!"

"Or… are you jealous that _I_ get to go and _you_ don't?" Sharpay asked through gritted teeth.

"Me? Jealous? Of you?" Ryan asked her with a chuckle, "That's a laugh."

"Ryan!" Mr. Evans stated strongly, "That's not how you should treat your sister!"

"Sorry," Ryan muttered and shoved his hands into his pockets.

"Daddy," Sharpay whined, "Why do _I_ have to go to camp?"

"It's just for a week, pumpkin," Mrs. Evans responded for him, "We promise that you'll enjoy yourself. We've enrolled you in some very interesting classes."

"Oh," Sharpay groaned, quivering her bottom lip, "_Fine!_ As long as it will get me away from Ryan!"

With that, she stomped out of the room and headed up the stairs. Ryan looked back at his parents before slinking out of the room quietly and heading up to his own room. He walked up the stairs slowly behind his sister, who refused to even spare him a passing glance.

"Shar," Ryan whispered so their parents wouldn't hear, but he got no response, so he tried again, "Shar, listen to me."

Still, she refused to acknowledge him as they reached the top of the stairs. She trudged into her room and Ryan attempted to follow her, but she slammed her door in his face. Ryan sighed and crossed the hall, retreating into his own room. Gently closing the door behind him, he looked around the mess his room was currently in. How was it that he always said the wrong thing? It seemed like he could never get anything right.

Maybe his sister was right. Maybe he did make a mistake that summer by joining the Wildcats and turning Sharpay's talent show against her. Then… it hit him. He flipped out his cell phone and started dialing a familiar number. He knew exactly who to call. Someone who would definitely help him. Someone who was ready to face a challenge. Someone who would listen or help when needed. Someone like…

"Chad!" Ryan sighed in relief as the jock picked up on the other end of the line, "I'm so glad you're available right now."

"Why, what's up?" Chad asked.

"Well, my parents are sort of planning on some sort of vacation and they're sending Sharpay to summer camp for a week," Ryan explained, "It's been pretty crazy."

"Whoa, slow down," Chad told him, "You're telling me that your parents are going away, too?"

"Yeah," Ryan stated and then realized what Chad had just said, "Wait… _too_? What do you mean _too_?"

"My parents are going away for the summer," Chad repeated, "My mom's going to Tokyo and my dad is going on some golf retreat in Florida. And after that, he's going to check out the Pro games in Hawaii. How weird is that?"

"Really weird," Ryan stated, "That's what my parents planned to do."

"That _is_ weird," Chad agreed.

"You know…my parents have been planning on taking a vacation for a long time," Ryan explained.

"Mine, too," Chad said, "And they've even decided to send my older brother to a week of basketball camp, but they won't let _me_ go. How unfair is _that_?"

"Just like with me and Sharpay," Ryan realized, "My parents are sending her to some camp for a week without telling her until now."

There was a slight pause while the two thought it over to themselves.

"Wow," Chad finally stated, "Do you believe in a coincidence? Because that's how it happened here, too."

"Maybe, but I think we should see what all the other Wildcats are planning for the rest of the summer," Ryan suggested, "Then we can get together and figure it out."

"Okay. That sounds like a good idea. I'll call some of the guys," Chad responded with a laugh, "Then, I'll probably call Taylor and ask her to call Gabriella, who might as well call Troy."

"You know those two. They've never been apart for longer than they have to," Ryan stated.

"Yeah, I think we all know that by now," Chad said.

"So, who does that leave me to call?" Ryan asked quizzically, feeling that there was nobody left for him to ask.

"Well, there's always Kelsi," Chad stated after a little pause.

Ryan's heart skipped a beat. Kelsi? He could never talk to Kelsi without saying something dumb. It was like trying to ice skate without any skates on. You always fell down and got nowhere.

"Ryan?" Chad asked to make sure he was still there.

Snapping out of his own little world of fantasy, Ryan finally found his voice again. "Um… yeah. You see… I can't do that," he stuttered.

"Well, why not?" Chad asked skeptically, "You have her number, right?"

"Um… maybe… somewhere," Ryan choked on his words, knowing he was sweating at the thought of it.

"I'm sure you'll have it somewhere. I mean, after all, she _is_ your number one contact aside from your sister," Chad persisted, "She's the one who normally goes over your performances with you."

Ryan thought of a way to get out of it. He was nervous, his hands were clamming up, and he could barely hold the phone. "Listen, Chad," Ryan began to explain, "I… can't… call Kelsi because…"

"You like her?" Chad asked knowingly.

"What?" Ryan questioned in shock.

"Well, it was either that or Gabriella," Chad teased, "Come on, it's not a secret. It doesn't take Nancy Drew or Sherlock Holmes to figure that one out."

Ryan didn't respond. Was it that obvious that he'd had a crush on Kelsi since the day he first met her? He was pretty sure he'd kept his attraction to Gabriella a secret… for a while, at least.

"Hey," Chad stated to break the awkward silence, "You can always call Martha and I'll take care of the rest."

Ryan sighed deeply into the phone. "I guess," he told Chad softly.

"Unless you'd rather call Kelsi…" Chad teased him again.

"Chad," Ryan stated sternly, "I'm going to expect that you'll keep this a secret, but I have trouble talking to Kelsi."

Chad paused, waiting for Ryan to continue.

"You see… ever since I met her, I've never been able to talk to her without messing up," Ryan continued, "Actually, I've never had much luck talking to any girl besides Sharpay."

When Chad was sure Ryan was done, he took a breath. "Ryan… that's kind of how I was when I first met Taylor," Chad shared his secret, "And look how it turned out after I asked her on a date last year."

Ryan laughed slightly and Chad joined in.

"See?" Chad told him, "You don't have to say much. Just getting up the courage to say something is all that matters."

"Did you steal that from a fortune cookie or something?" Ryan asked.

"Maybe," Chad answered and the two started to laugh.

"Well, I guess I could call Kelsi and ask her what's going on," Ryan finally said, "And then I could probably call Martha and get the details from her."

"And I'll call the others and spread the word," Chad confirmed, "Where will we all meet?"

"At the food court… in the mall," Ryan answered, "By the pretzel stand."

"I love that place!" Chad exclaimed, "We tell everyone to meet there."

"Right," Ryan agreed, "Call me once you've talked to everyone."

"Sure, dude," Chad responded.

"See you later on today at around noon?" Ryan asked to make sure.

"Noon it is," Chad confirmed, "See you later."

The two hung up and Ryan steadied himself for what he had to do next…

He'd call Martha first.

**(A/N) I know I should be working on my other fics, but this one was a really good idea that just came to me and I promise I'm trying to keep on track of all my fics on this site. Not like I have any on any other site, but how was the start of my newest fic? I hope you liked it. If you didn't, that's okay. Let me know what you liked or didn't like about it! R&R!**

**EDIT:**

**Okay, this was the 7th thing I posted to my account, which would make you think that my writing had gotten better by that point, right? Well… not so much. Just my ideas got more interesting, I suppose. Maybe not. Maybe only to me. *shrug***

**So, my New Year's "spring cleaning" project brought me to this little story I came up with one day when my youngest brother started yattering on about _High School Musical_ in all its clichéd glory and I just had to take one of his ideas and turn it into this. It's mostly my own creation. *sigh* But I basically just switched up the formatting and grammar, etc… from the last time you've read this.**

**I didn't feel like playing around with the narration or dialogue much this time round. I'm tired of _High School Musical_. It's killing my brain. And I blame my fem-stalker for that. =/**

**_Original Post:_ 4/18/08**

**_Revised:_ 10/27/11**

**_Reposted:_ 10/30/11**


	2. Meeting

**Disclaimer: **_High School Musical_ does not belong to me. A certain adorable blonde boy also doesn't belong to me. Again, anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. Okay, that's pretty much it. I think…

**Chapter 2: Meeting**

Okay, so Ryan had chickened out and asked Martha to call Kelsi for him. It wasn't his fault if he couldn't stand to talk to the girl he'd had a crush on since he'd first seen her at his first audition at East High. Well, hopefully, when the gang met up later on, he'd be able to talk to her.

Suddenly, his phone rang and he picked it up. "Hey, what's up?" he asked.

"Ryan, I called everyone to let them know and the word is out," Chad's voice responded, "We'll all meet up later. So, how did it go with Kelsi?"

Ryan took in a deep breath before sighing in frustration. "I… didn't call her," he admitted, "I asked Martha to do it for me."

"Well, she must have been thrilled," Chad explained, "Talking to you, of all people, that must have been exciting for her."

"What are you talking about?" Ryan asked him in confusion.

"You don't know?" Chad questioned in slight surprise.

"Know what?" Ryan urged him to explain what he was getting at.

"Oh, sorry, gotta go," Chad rushed to end the conversation, "I just remembered I have this… thing… I need to do before we meet. I'll talk to you later." With that, Chad hung up the phone.

"Well, that was odd," Ryan thought out loud as he closed his phone, "It was almost like he didn't want to tell me what was going on."

"Well, is that what you were talking about to your little friends?" Sharpay's voice called from the doorway.

Ryan spun around quickly to look at his sister from where he sat on his bed. "How long have you been there?" he asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

"Oh, puh-lease, Ryan. I just got here," Sharpay answered as she rolled her eyes, "Listening to you talk to yourself is quite… amusing actually."

"Aren't you still mad at me?" Ryan asked her, with a sigh of relief, "And by the way, I'm really sorry about upsetting you before downstairs. I didn't mean for it to come out and sound that harshly. It was an accident."

"Save it, Ryan," Sharpay stated, "I didn't come in here for apologies. I wanted to ask if you knew anything about this summer camp thing."

"No, actually, it was a surprise to me, too." Ryan answered, "And I'm still not sure what's going on either."

"Why don't _you_ have to go?" Sharpay asked him, taking a seat at his desk, "I mean, we're twins and mom and dad always say that we'll do everything at the same time. Well, within reason, but camp is definitely one of those things. Why do I have to go and you don't? I don't deserve this!"

Ryan sighed. "Listen, sis. I know you feel that mom and dad are punishing you by making you go, but I think you'll have fun," he tried to cheer her up, but she just rolled her eyes at him, "You know, I hate it when you do that to me."

"Do what?" his twin asked him.

"Roll your eyes at me," Ryan stated, "I've reminded you a million times that I hate it when you do that to me. It's bad enough that you do that to mom and dad when you think we're not looking, but that still doesn't mean I like it or I don't notice."

"As if I _care_ what you think," Sharpay grunted, "In fact, I could care less."

"You know, I have feelings, too," Ryan growled in frustration, "You should learn to be more understanding and caring. Otherwise, it will come back to bite you at the most unexpected time."

"Yeah, yeah," Sharpay sighed, rolling her eyes again, "You always say that and has it happened? No." With that, she got up and walked over to the doorway.

"You never know, Shar," Ryan warned her.

Feeling the need to get the last word in, Sharpay turned around and glared at him. "Oh, and Ryan?" she stated.

Ryan looked up at her expectantly and saw her roll her eyes before leaving the room. "You know, that's not nice!" he called after her.

"Yeah, yeah," she stated from her room.

Ryan sighed in defeat. What could he do? His sister was going to camp for a week. His parents were going away for who knows how long. And yet, he was left home all alone. It was as if no one wanted to spend time with him. Why was that?

Maybe because of his attitude lately – he'd been so bored and everything he said came out wrong. Maybe they were avoiding him. Then again, maybe Sharpay was pretending she didn't know about the camp thing just to annoy him. After all, she was his twin sister and she did like to annoy him.

Well, he had a while to go before he was expected to meet everyone, so there was plenty of time for him to prepare what he was going to say to… Kelsi. Or maybe he'd just get ready to go to the pretzel stand in the mall. Yeah, he'd do that.

~~~~~~ Just after noon, at the mall…

Everyone had met up at the mall and was seated at a table in front of the pretzel stand… waiting for Ryan to show up. He'd been the one to come up with the plan in the first place and he still hadn't shown. Maybe he'd forgotten or maybe his parents had kept him back for a few minutes longer.

"Hey, guys!" Ryan called from the other end of the food court, "I'll be there in a second!" Well, at least he wasn't _too_ late. That was his sister's job. He rushed across the food court to the table with all of his friends.

"Hey, Ryan. What's up?" Martha asked him, "What are we meeting to talk about?"

Ryan sat down at the table. "Well, Chad and I were talking about how our parents are going away for the summer and about how our siblings are being sent to camp," he explained, "So, basically we're left alone at home for a week until our sibling's camp is done."

"Wow, that's really weird," Martha stated, not taking her eyes off of Ryan's face.

"Yeah, isn't it?" Chad smiled. "We were wondering if something similar is happening with all of you."

"Actually, yeah," Martha answered, "My mom is going to Tokyo and my dad is going on a golf retreat in Florida. After that, he's going to see the Pro games in Hawaii. Is that what's happening with everyone else?" Everyone else stared at her in shock and nodded. "Wow," she muttered to herself, "This is _freaky_."

"I'll say," Taylor agreed, clinging onto Chad's arm, "I mean, my parents are leaving me at home alone and they never _once_ mentioned anything about everyone else."

"I bet they all knew and were planning to leave us alone on purpose," Gabriella suggested, gripping Troy's hand for support, "Right, Troy?"

"Absolutely," Troy assured her, "Maybe they're trying to teach us to manage on our own before we go off to college next year."

"It might just be a group trip after all instead of a coincidence," Zeke suggested, "But if they were planning to leave us alone to teach us to manage, why would they send Sharpay? I mean, she's also going to college next year. It doesn't make sense."

"But listen to this," Ryan stated eagerly, "I found an ad for a fashion camp in my mom's purse."

"What were you doing in her purse?" Chad questioned curiously.

"That doesn't matter… but that must be the camp they're sending Sharpay to," Ryan continued, "They probably thought that Sharpay would like to go to a fashion camp. So, they're making her go as a surprise. And I guess, because I haven't been myself lately, my parents are trying to teach _me_ the lesson."

"So, I guess that solves our problem, then," Troy stated with a sigh, "Now, we know what's going on."

"But what will we do while we're alone for the summer?" Gabriella asked curiously, "I mean, there's nothing to do alone at home all day."

"Why don't we get together and have a party to celebrate?" Ryan suggested, "We could get together at someone's house and just have fun."

"That's a great idea, Ryan!" Kelsi praised him from where she sat… next to Jason, "That would be really fun."

"But where will we have the party?" Jason asked, realizing something, "We'd need a large place to have the party. You know, somewhere we'll have enough room to hang out and just have fun."

"Why don't we have it at Ryan's mansion?" Kelsi suggested, suddenly excited.

Ryan looked up at her in shock.

"That's a great idea, Kels," Martha told her.

"Yeah," everyone else agreed.

Well, everyone but Ryan. "No, that's not a great idea," he argued, "I mean, I'd like to, but my parents and Sharpay and…"

"Oh, _please_, Ryan," Kelsi begged, "Please, _please_, consider it."

"Yeah, please, Ryan," Martha chimed in, "It would be so much fun."

"Oh, come on, it's perfect," Gabriella pleaded.

"For us?" Taylor asked, putting on a sad face.

The guys laughed as Ryan looked back and forth between all the girls, who were staring at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Oh… fine," Ryan caved and the others cheered, "But it has to be when Sharpay's at camp."

"Deal," Zeke stated, "Though, wouldn't it be a bit more fun if Sharpay were to show up?"

"No," Troy said immediately before Gabriella stared up at him with a slight pout.

"No, Troy's right," Ryan defended his opinion, "Besides, she'd probably just get mad and tell all of our parents."

"Right," Jason agreed, "And I'm guessing they wouldn't want us to go to an unsupervised party at your mansion."

"Not to mention what my parents would say," Ryan added.

"Well, don't worry, dude," Chad reassured him, "We'll help clean up afterwards. Right, gang?"

"Of course," everyone else agreed.

"Thanks, guys," Ryan stated. The _last_ thing he needed to worry about was having his sister come home to discover the remains of a party she hadn't been invited to… in her own home. Because _that _wouldn't go over too well.

"What would you expect from us?" Troy asked.

"We're all Wildcats!" Chad said rather loudly, "What team?"

"Wildcats!" the others cheered.

"Thanks again," Ryan repeated, "So, who wants lunch?"

**(A/N) Well, that's another chapter finished. (Sigh) At least, I got a new idea. And this is the result. I owe it all to socialitegirl for her idea about what should happen in the story later on. So, yeah, thanx for that. Luv ya! And I hope to hear from you again soon. I mean, I was going through writer's block before, but now that I'm over it, I will need some more ideas. What do you want to see in the next chapter? Please review and let me know what all of you want to have happen! R&R!**

**EDIT:**

**So, I've made a few minor corrections on this chapter, too. The basic stuff – fixed the formatting and corrected grammar and spelling errors. *shrug* Nothing major.**

**_Original Post:_ ?**

**_Revised:_ 10/27/11**

**_Reposted:_ 10/30/11**


	3. Albuquerque We Have A Problem

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _High__ School__ Musical_…or anything in this fic as of yet besides plot and such.

**Chapter**** Dedication:** This one's for Charmingly Char for her birthday.

**Chapter 3: Albuquerque, We Have A Problem**

Sharpay was sitting on her bed, looking into her closet. If her parents were going to send her to camp then she might as well dress for it. She couldn't believe Ryan was still hanging out with those _Wildcats_. It hurt when her friends ditched her to dance on stage at Lava Springs with her classmates, but it stung so much worse when Ryan had gone behind her back to work with Kelsi to sabotage her only chances of getting together with Troy. Well, she'd just have to act like she was glad that she was going to camp and Ryan wasn't. After all, she could always just spend the week somewhere else and pretend she'd gone.

She sighed as she lied back on her bed and gave up trying to plan her week away from home. She didn't want to admit it, but she'd miss her brother too much. She'd cried her eyes out in her dressing room at the talent show not because she wouldn't be able to win the competition or get Troy, but because Ryan had betrayed her. Ryan had been like a security blanket to her ever since she could remember. He was more than that; he was her brother, her _twin__ brother_, her best friend. And now that he'd found other friends, she was more afraid than ever that he'd forget about her and how much he meant to her.

Sharpay quickly shook her head and tried to forget about all that. She sat up and decided she'd go downstairs and talk to her parents. When she reached the kitchen, she heard her mom on the phone talking to someone else. She was about to walk in and interrupt her, but something she heard caught her attention and she stopped.

"The camp bit was a great idea." Mrs. Evans laughed quietly. "I'm sure they'll love it."

Sharpay sucked in a breath. So, there were more people going to camp this summer? She listened carefully, being sure to keep hidden from view. She was positive her father was in there reading the newspaper at the kitchen table.

"So, they're going next week?" Mrs. Evans continued and waited for a confirmation, "Good. So, we'll leave Sunday night and we'll be in Japan by Monday afternoon."

Sharpay thought about that for a moment. Who else was going with her to Japan? Didn't she say she had a job offer there? Was she bringing her friends along with her? Something didn't sound right.

"Of course, then we'll take another jet to France, where we'll go shopping in Paris. Doesn't that sound fun?" Mrs. Evans laughed, reminding Sharpay of how she'd call up her friends and plan the perfect shopping trip. Then she sighed, remembering how she'd always drag Ryan with her and he'd go without argument.

"The guys are taking another jet to Florida for golf and then they're going to watch more sports in Hawaii," Mrs. Evans stated; the smile could be heard in her voice.

Sharpay thought about that. She never said anything about shopping in Paris.

"That's right, honey." Mr. Evans chuckled. "Sports are very important to the economy."

Sharpay rolled her eyes at that. So, there were more than just her parents planning this unfair summer vacation for who knows how long. Someone else's parents were going to make their kids go to camp so they could have fun traveling around the globe for a while. But who else could afford all that besides the ladies from Lava Springs and her mom didn't just bring them shopping in Paris for the fun of it.

"No, don't worry about it. We're paying for everything," Mrs. Evans reassured whoever was on the other end of the phone.

What? So, it wasn't someone from the country club. But the only other people her mom talked to were… the Wildcats' parents. She _wouldn__'__t_.

"I'm sure Kelsi and the rest of the kids will be fine alone while their siblings are gone. It will teach them responsibility before they go away to college in a year," Mrs. Evans spoke assuringly.

So, she was talking to Kelsi's mom? Why would she be doing that? Why did she even have her number? She wasn't the one who needed to contact Kelsi for rehearsals for the musicals. Then Sharpay thought of something. If they were teaching them all responsibility for college by leaving them home alone for a week, while everyone else was gone, why were they sending her to camp? What was so special about Ryan? Maybe they thought she was the more responsible of the two. She smiled at that.

"I know Ryan's a good kid and all, but I've been worried about him lately," Mrs. Evans continued, quieter now, "He hasn't been acting the same."

Sharpay bit her lip as she strained to hear what they were saying. There was a long pause while Mrs. Neilson said something in response.

"I don't know what it is, but ever since the incident at Lava Springs, he's been… different," Mrs. Evans explained.

Now that she thought about it, Sharpay realized that Ryan really _had_ been acting strangely towards all of them. She didn't know what it was that might have been the cause of it, but it was starting to worry her. Then a thought crossed her mind. Maybe Ryan didn't care about her anymore.

"He's been saying harmful things without thinking and when we told them about our trip and about sending Sharpay to camp, he just made fun of it," Mrs. Evans spoke worriedly, "Do you have any idea what might be going on? Is this happening with Kelsi or does she know what it might be?"

Ugh, there goes the talk about Kelsi again. Ever since that girl got together with Jason, her mother hadn't stopped talking about the girl. Sharpay sighed again as she leaned against the wall. She wanted to leave now and just forget this ever happened, but then something her dad said made her freeze in place and her eyes widened.

"I'm more concerned about Sharpay," Mr. Evans explained, "I don't want her to handle this too badly. You remember how she stomped upstairs. One of these days, it might get worse."

Sharpay was shocked. He knew she wasn't unstable like her guidance counselors thought she was. The last time they had called her in to talk about how she'd felt about not getting the part in the musical, they'd called her emotionally unstable and called her parents to tell them that. After that, she just quit going to see them.

It had worked while she'd thought her parents didn't believe them, but now it was clear they were starting to doubt her. How could they do that? Didn't they love her and trust her enough to know that she'd never do anything stupid like that? Most of her teachers had even thought she was bulimic or anorexic or something like that. They even told her to start taking care of herself at home. It wasn't her fault most of them didn't understand the pain of being a teenage girl with cramps. But now her parents were going back there again. How _could_ they? She shook her head and listened.

"What do you mean you're more worried about Sharpay?" Mrs. Evans asked her husband, clearly confused, "She seems fine to me."

Thank goodness her mom didn't believe that. Or maybe she was just too concerned about her _little__ baby__ boy_ that she didn't care enough. Sharpay shook those thoughts away. Of course their parents were just concerned about them.

"Well, I don't know why you're all worked up about Ryan," Mr. Evans retorted, "He's a strong young man now and I'm sure it's nothing we need to worry about. Sharpay just doesn't seem like she can handle him growing up and making new friends without her. I'm just concerned about how she might start taking this."

Well, they were right about one thing. She didn't want Ryan to make new friends without her in case he forgot she was even there.

"She'll be fine. Those guidance people are idiots anyway," Mrs. Evans tried to reassure him, "Ryan needs more attention. He's been mean to Sharpay and he's always leaving the house to go hang around his new friends, leaving Sharpay home alone. He doesn't listen to her anymore. I'm just afraid that he's trying to get away from us. Oh, no… I'm not saying this is any of _their_ fault."

She had obviously just remembered she was on the phone with Mrs. Neilson, who'd apparently heard that and thought she was trying to blame Kelsi. Ah, poor little Kelsi. Everyone thought she had problems just because she never talked to anyone and she was just too quiet.

Sharpay took another big breath as she thought this over. Her parents thought the two of them had problems one way or another. Maybe Ryan did, but she knew for a fact that the only real problem she had was Ryan. He was never around, he didn't seem to care anymore, and he was just too distant.

"Well, either way, if anything else comes up, we might have to send them both away to get help," Mr. Evans stated before going back to reading his newspaper.

Sharpay gasped. She had to tell Ryan. She quietly headed back upstairs to her room, closing her door behind her. Why was this happening? Couldn't their parents just go back to caring too much about their jobs or anything else that would make them forget any of this could be possible? The answer was obviously no.

She went over to her bed and sat down. Picking up her phone, she opened it and was halfway through dialing Ryan's cell phone number, but she closed it and shook her head. Who was she kidding? He wouldn't pick up anyway. He was probably too busy with his "friends". They were obviously more important to him than she was.

If Ryan wanted to get away from her, she couldn't change that about him. Whatever his problem was, she decided she didn't care. For all she knew, those Wildcats could have been putting ideas into his head. They were probably poisoning him right this very minute with plans for what they were going to do next week without her. Not that they didn't do that every day, but somehow she knew this time would be different. They were going to plan something they couldn't do while she wasn't there to try and tell him not to. It was so obvious they would do something like that.

Ryan had hurt her too much since Lava Springs. No matter how many chances she gave him to prove that he wasn't being a jerk to her on purpose, he just kept doing the same things over and over again. She knew she was being stupid to think he actually cared or that anything would go back to normal before they ever ran into the Wildcats… now that he was one of them.

It was then that she decided what she was going to do. Next week when Ryan was going to be doing she-didn't-care-what… She was going to camp and she was going to forget about Ryan once and for all.

**(A/N) I'm dedicating this chappie to charmarctravis! Happy b-day char! Luv ya! Hope you have the best birthday ever! So, for everyone else, plz leave me loads of pretty reviews to let me know what you think. I don't know where this chappie came from, but here it is. Thanks for everyone who reviewed already and I hope you'll continue to do so. Hugs and a virtual fruit basket for everyone who leaves me one of those much cherished reviews. L8rs!**

**EDIT:**

**Well… I fixed grammatical errors and the formatting again in this chapter.**

**I remember I basically wrote it in a state of mind… that wasn't entirely all there – one that I've been told writers cherish and pray for. Aka: I was zoned out daydreaming while I typed this. There… A perfectly healthy state of mind for a writer, I suppose. I just let my fingers do all the work. XD Heheh…**

**So, I figured that, since this chapter was mostly focused on Sharpay, charmarctravis (now Charmingly Char… or something along those lines) would love it as a birthday gift… because she's a Sharpay fanatic. Well, I don't really care much about that now, since those days are behind me. And hopefully behind her, too. *crosses fingers***

**_Original__ Post:_ 1/29/09**

**_Revised:_ 10/27/11**

**_Reposted:_ 10/30/11**


	4. Brother Meets Suitcase

**Disclaimer:** Personally, I think these disclaimers are a-little-bit-a-lot-a-bit pointless. We all know that if we owned any of this stuff here then we wouldn't be here writing about it when we could be making money off it, so I think you already can guess if I own _High__ School__ Musical_ or not.

**Chapter 4: Brother Meets Suitcase**

The week had passed rather quickly and Sharpay had ignored Ryan as much as possible. At the dinner table, she refused to even look at him and every time he tried to start a conversation with her, she looked away and pretended she couldn't hear him. Surprisingly, their parents hadn't made her talk to him. The one thing that bothered her most was that Ryan hadn't seemed to care all that much that she wasn't making any effort to communicate with him, but she wouldn't let that get to her because today she was leaving for camp.

Ryan sat in his room wondering if what he was doing was the right thing. Everyone's parents were leaving today for the rest of the summer and everyone's siblings were going to camp for the week. He would have felt better about that if things hadn't completely turned between him and his sister. She hadn't talked to him since last week when they'd gotten into that argument. He thought she needed some space after being told she was being shipped off to camp, so he'd left her alone to cool off. He was positive she would enjoy herself once she got there, but he wasn't sure if throwing a party while no one was around was the best way to go.

He got up and left his room, crossing the hall to his sister's room. Quietly, he knocked on her door before opening it to find her struggling with her suitcase. "Hey," he began as he stood in the doorway, but she didn't even look at him, "Are you excited for camp?"

She rolled her eyes and continued to pack the rest of her things into the suitcase she had laid out on her bed.

Ryan sighed in frustration. "Okay… are you done ignoring me now or are you planning on never speaking to me for the rest of my life?" he asked her as he walked into the room and this time Sharpay stopped what she was doing, but still didn't look at him, "I know you're upset, but seriously… what did I do? I thought we were sort of okay after what happened last week. What's wrong with you lately? It's like you're keeping something from me."

Sharpay pursed her lips and closed her suitcase. Silently, she wondered if she should tell him about what she heard their parents say when their mom was on the phone with Mrs. Neilson. No. She wasn't going to give in and talk to him now.

"Will you just talk to me already?" Ryan almost yelled at her as he stopped behind her, "What did I do that ticked you off this time?"

At that, Sharpay removed her suitcase from the bed and whacked him in the stomach with it as she turned around and stormed out of the room. Ryan took a deep breath to lessen the pain of the hit and shook his head before returning to his room, closing the door, not even bothering to say goodbye to everyone.

When they finally left and he was alone in the house, Ryan buried his face in his pillow. How could he have actually thought Sharpay would react any differently this time around? Every other time she'd gotten upset with him, she had acted the same way. Maybe the party was a good idea after all. He could finally do something without his sister ratting him out and for once he could make his own plans without her there to ruin everything. He sat up on the bed and smiled slightly. The party was tomorrow anyway – they'd planned not to do it on the first day just in case their parents came back to get something they forgot or their siblings needed anything – so at least he had _something_ to distract him from his sister. At that thought, he went downstairs to start searching for some party supplies their parents always used for special guests.

At least a half hour later, the phone rang and Ryan went to get it. "Hey," he stated, picking up the phone, trying to keep the mental checklist of things to do before tomorrow fresh in his head. To his surprise, it wasn't Chad's voice this time as he'd half expected it to be.

"Hey," he heard Kelsi say quietly into the phone and he could feel his heart almost stop for a moment.

"Um… what's up?" he tried his best not to stutter and took a while to think before saying anything else. Too bad it was easier said than done.

"I just called to check in on you and see if you needed any help setting up for tomorrow," she replied, pausing a moment, "Are you okay? You sound a bit off." Genuine concern. That was typical of the small brunette. If only she knew how it made him feel every time she spoke.

It took him a while before he found the words he thought he'd lost. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine; perfectly fine. Actually, I was just going over everything so I wouldn't forget," he tried not to let himself ramble like he usually did, "So, you just out of the blue thought of calling me?" For a moment, he had a small bit of hope that she had called for a different reason.

"Oh… well, I figured since I kind of made you agree to this in the first place that I would ask if you were having any trouble," Kelsi explained simply, a note of concern still in her voice though.

"Well, you know what would be a big help?" he began, trying to make conversation, "If you could bring some CDs or something over so we can pick out music." Though he had plenty of stuff in his room that could be used, he knew Kelsi's individual talent was for picking out the perfect music for any occasion. That was the reason she was the composer for the musicals each year.

"Oh, sure, I'd love to," she quickly agreed, "If you're sure that's all you need, I should probably let you get back to planning and I'll put together a mix for the party."

If only she knew he did need something more, but that was the ability for him to talk to her straight forward without changing topics all the time. There was no way she'd ever be able to help him regain control over his speech while she was around. "Great," was all he could say, "I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Alright, then," Kelsi's smile could be heard in her voice, "Bye, Ryan."

"Bye," he replied and the moment he hung up, he shook his head and resisted the overwhelming urge to face-palm because if he did, his forehead would be a brilliant red more so than his cheeks would be when Kelsi would show up with Jason.

~~~~~~ Meanwhile, at camp…

Sharpay had been there for less than an hour and already she wanted to go home. What kind of camp was this? Sure, it had to do with fashion, but the clothes she wore were only half of her image. The other half, one of the more important, though both were equal in necessity, was her ability to act and sing. Dancing was more of her brother's thing… though he'd taught her a few things which had helped her in the previous musicals. No. She could not think about him right now. This was her week away.

Looking around at the treacherous place in front of her, she groaned in disdain at the cheap furnishings and the cheesy lounge chairs in all of the rooms they were supposed to be staying in. How could her parents put her through this? Was this what they meant by sending her away to get help? Did they really truly think she needed to improve her fashion? Everything here was amateur stuff she didn't need to know. She had often been told that fashion was about finding your own style and working wonders with it. How was she supposed to do that when everything here was about doing things the camp way? Then again, she hadn't even begun to attend the group classes they were having. Thinking it over to herself, she decided one couldn't hurt.

Then again… it would be too much trouble if she attempted to get home by herself now. She could at least stay for a while and make it seem like she had a good time before ditching. There wasn't anything they could really do to her if she didn't show up to one meeting or whatever it was they were called. And besides, she might actually get used to it after a while… or _not_. She scrunched up her nose at the horrible color patterns of each of the rooms. Not a single bit of pink anywhere she was supposed to be located. And the colors were horribly off. Who designed this place? A color-blind monkey? This was going to take some getting used to.

**(A/N) Okay, so here's chappie 4! Woot! Finally, I know. I meant to post this ages back. Honestly… I don't know what I was thinking and now I'm kinda stumped for ideas… because I got bored of this story. I'm sorry. But it's true. For all my _HSM_ stories, actually. O_o' Don't hate me…**

**Okiedoklies… I'm gonna try to finish this relatively soon, though that might not happen. I want at least 1 review before I update again, though I'm gonna have to sit down and get through writer's blocks, so please give me any ideas you may have and you'll, of course, get credit for them. I have an idea as to what I want to have happen, so that should be a surprise, but I'm kinda stuck on how to get up to that point.**

**So, give me stuffs! Kidding… You don't have to. It's just if you wanna suggest something or challenge me to make something happen. I dunno. Just… I'll make it work. I need something to regain my interest in this story, so challenging me to write something will definitely make it go much easier.**

**Reviews pretty please!**

**_Posted:_ 10/30/11**


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